Premium Gyokuro (meaning “Jade Dew”) is the pinnacle of Japanese loose leaf green tea. Similar to Matcha, the leaves are handpicked and shade grown to preserve its amino acids bringing out its natural sweet taste. Best served steeped in a lower temperature to maximize taste.

What a wonderful Gyokuro – one of the best I’ve sampled in a long time!

The flavor is so sweet yet crisp and light. The taste really does evoke thoughts of what the flavor of a fresh dew drop on a young blade of grass might taste like. It has a delicateness to it that is very spring-like to me … like the fresh, young growth of a sprig of grass or the budding leaf on a tree in spring.

The aroma of the dry leaf is grassy, and after brewing the tea maintains that grassy fragrance, although it is quite a bit softer. This translates into the flavor. It tastes lightly grassy, but, not in an off-putting way. More like the fresh, exhilarating flavor of sweet grass. A hint of buttery tones in the background – just a hint, nothing too heavy or overwhelming – just a kiss of creamy sweetness to enhance the overall cup.

There is no bitterness to this cup, just pure, sweet green tea goodness – just what you’d expect from a Premium Gyokuro, and the high quality I’ve come to expect from Aiya.